Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We have been very sensitive on this side of the House when discussing any arrangements that may be required in the event of a no-deal Brexit for fear of inadvertently influencing the UK debate. That debate is now moving on, however. Red lines have been crossed that could not have been crossed previously. That may, hopefully, lead to some sort of collective sense and some idea of where the UK is going. In the interim, however, this House cannot just state we have no plan in response to those seeking clarity regarding what we would do in a no-deal scenario.

I refer in particular to the Taoiseach who answered questions yesterday regarding the sanitary and phytosanitary, SPS, checks we may have to do. That issue is becoming very real. If anybody in Westminster wants to quote anyone in this House stating there is no problem, we can respond by stating we will have to irradiate our wooden pallets. The idea that there is a maximum facilitation, max fac, solution is complete nonsense.

If anything, the closer we get to a no-deal Brexit and the more we prepare for it, the more obvious the case for the backstop becomes. Today the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the Taoiseach debate how to protect the Single Market in Farmleigh House, including specifics such as the management of sanitary and phytosanitary checks. We must start to give the Irish public and farmers some understanding of what that might mean. There was talk yesterday of farm gate animal checks being different because we will have to involve vets. We better try to provide some clarity so that we will not be totally unprepared for what we will have to do if the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, and the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, are unable to reach some sort of agreement and the UK inadvertently crashes out of the European Union. The Taoiseach indicated yesterday that it may be possible to apply some of these checks on an all-island basis, although he said that would require the co-operation of the UK Government. I presume it would also require the co-operation of the EU. He also suggested that issues in respect of chlorinated chicken or steroid-treated beef may be managed with checks at Dublin Port and Rosslare Europort.

Can the Tánaiste provide clarity on the matter of animal checks, which seems to be one of the most difficult issues we will have to manage if a no-deal Brexit occurs? Irish agrifood companies have set out their concerns about what needs to be done in today's newspapers. This is a public debate. This House needs and deserves some details of the plans for that specific area because it is the thorniest and most difficult challenge we will face in a no-deal scenario.

See this speech in context